Understanding mild traumatic brain injuries

As a child of the 1960s and 1970s, I can attest to a general lack of knowledge in society regarding traumatic brain injuries.

I vividly recall friends and fellow students being “knocked out” on the playground or playing sports. Adults simply used smelling salts to get the student to come around. The kid would go right back into the game or onto the playground, without another thought.

Hit in the head with a baseball? Don’t worry, you just “had your bell rung”.

The word “concussion” was used liberally, but never the words “traumatic brain injury”. Those words were reserved for people in a coma.

We have come a long way in realizing the importance of identifying when a brain injury has occurred, and taking immediate action to minimize further brain damage.

Identifying Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

The American Congress of Rehabilitation defined MTBI in 1993, a breakthrough in understanding brain injuries:

A patient with mild traumatic brain injury is a person who has had

a traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain function…

“Concussion” is used interchangeably with the term “mild traumatic brain injury” (MTBI).

That is unfortunate: many people still believe a concussion is merely a “knock on the head” from which a person recovers quickly, and without any future problems.

But this is often not the case.

Mechanics of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

Bruising, tearing or swelling of the brain are the causes of an MTBI.

No injury to the brain is “mild” to the person living with MTBI

These can come from either a direct biomechanical force, such as:

A blow to the head;

Falling and striking the head on the ground; or

Striking the head against a hard surface in a car accident crash.

Or by an indirect force, such as:

A jolt to the head and brain as a result of an exterior pressure, such as a blast or explosion near military personnel in war zones; or

An acceleration/deceleration neck movement, without direct trauma to the head. This type of brain injury can occur in sports when a player’s body takes a hit that causes the shoulders and head to change speed or direction violently. Or, when a person’s head is whipped forcefully in a car accident crash.

Most MTBIs occur without loss of consciousness. Some people minimize the potential severity of the injury, or take it less seriously, if the TBI is not extreme.

There is a saying that no surgery is minor if it is happening to you. I believe that the same is true for a mild traumatic brain injury.

No injury to the brain is mild to the person who suffers from it.

All of us who care about someone with an MTBI need to keep making progress in education and prevention.

Educating lawyers to help MTBI patients

Part of Coluccio Law’s practice is dedicated to helping traumatic brain injury survivors. Attorney Kevin Coluccio spoke at an Oregon Trial Lawyer’s Association seminar for other attorneys helping clients who are living with traumatic brain injuries.